# Long short or short quick sips



## Senator (Feb 8, 2008)

OK,

Sooooo, we've all heard that one must "sip" the pipe....but does one do a long slow sip with regular frequency...or does one do multiple quick sips (little puffs). Or...a combination. 

I've seen both done.

For example:

Long slow sip.......wait......long slow sip......wait......
or
Quick sip, quick sip, quick sip......wait......quick sip, quick sip, quick sip......wait......

Hope I'm asking the question properly.


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## wharfrathoss (Dec 27, 2006)

for me it's short & slow-puffing long or quickly is a good way to overheat your pipe (causing burnout eventually) or to get tongue bit-you want to keep the pipe barely smoldering, on the edge of going out to get the most flavor from what i've been taught-hope this helps


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## dogsplayinpoker (Jan 23, 2007)

yes.





I wind up smoking different tobaccos in different ways. Pretty much however I need to smoke it to keep it lit and yet not scorch my tongue.
I try to take 2 or 3 long "sips".


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## Nutiket_32 (Oct 26, 2006)

I generally have one or two med-long sips, then rest for a little bit. If its about to go out, ill take some quick sips to get it going again, although I have no idea how this is on the pipe.


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## Phlegmatic (Aug 1, 2008)

how hot can I allow the pipe to get?


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## dogsplayinpoker (Jan 23, 2007)

Phlegmatic said:


> how hot can I allow the pipe to get?


If the bowl becomes too hot to touch, you need to set it down. Let it rest for 10 minutes or so, then relight.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

If I have to "sip" a tobacco in order to get the flavor out of it its definitely not going to be something I buy a second tin of no matter how much I like it. Royal Yacht is a good example. Sorry but I prefer long steady pulls and a not-so-long puff back through the pipe. No real problems overheating here.


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## Ultravox (Jan 4, 2007)

Mad Hatter said:


> If I have to "sip" a tobacco in order to get the flavor out of it its definitely not going to be something I buy a second tin of no matter how much I like it. Royal Yacht is a good example. Sorry but I prefer long steady pulls and a not-so-long puff back through the pipe. No real problems overheating here.


:tpd:

I've tried 'sipping' but to no avail. Many people have suggested that smoking with the tobacco on the verge of needing a relight is the best way to extract the finer nuances from the tobacco. When I've tried this, I'm usually left with a few wisps of smoke and an unpleasant ashy taste in my mouth before it actually does fully extinguish.

I prefer to have a healthy burn going so I get a decent amount of smoke but in order to prevent the bowl from heating up, I tend to draw out my puffs with ample-sized intervals between each.

This might be contrary to what other, more experienced pipesters will tell you but it's what works for me. Just find a pace that suits your style and the blend that you're smoking at the time and you'll soon find what works best. It's part of the ride. Trying to do things 'by the book' doesn't work in this hobby like it does in others.

In the meantime, enjoy yourself and don't think that you have to abide by any set rules. Pipe smoking is individual to you, which is why I'm sure we all love this cash burning, hellspawn of a hobby! :hn

Sorry for the length, guys.


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## jbennin314 (Jul 30, 2008)

I agree, its whatever floats your "pipe". I used to be a quick puffer, but today it depends on how my day went. If I'm relaxed so will be my puffing. If I'm about to grind my teeth, my puffing will speed up considerably.
There is one thing though, slower puffs will make for a cooker smoke and cooler pipe. There, my 3 cents.p


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## dillonmcmurphy (Aug 5, 2008)

jbennin314 said:


> I agree, its whatever floats your "pipe". I used to be a quick puffer, but today it depends on how my day went. If I'm relaxed so will be my puffing. If I'm about to grind my teeth, my puffing will speed up considerably.
> There is one thing though, slower puffs will make for a cooker smoke and cooler pipe. There, my 3 cents.p


I agree. I have definitely noticed that if I take slow sips my smoke and pipe stay cooler than if I puff quicker short puffs. I also like to smoke with a little wait between puffs to keep my pipe cooler. The length of this wait depends on the pipe and tobacco. After a bit I kind of get into a groove and adjust my puffing speed and strength to get the "optimal results".

Cheers!


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## PipesandGOP (Feb 7, 2008)

Depends on the tobacco definately and how I'm smoking it. Typically though, I'll go with a few fairly long puffs, then wait a bit and repeat. If I'm holding it in the ol teeth then I usually keep an extremely light draw going fairly constantly and letting a little air go down the pipe on the exhale- barely keeps it burning but delivers plenty of flavor and exceptional volume of smoke.


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## BlackDog (May 19, 2006)

Short puffs. No long draws. Like someone said, you just want the tobacco to smoulder. Long puffs would get too hot.


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## hyper_dermic (Dec 17, 2006)

i take very long, EXTREMELY slow puffs.. i breath through my nose so i dont pass out from holding my breath while puffing. i find i take 2 or 3 breaths untill i complete 1 puff of the pipe.

When i first started smoking a pipe, everyone said to smoke slowly, i thought they were talking about the frequency of the puffs... so i would take normal puffs, but less frequently... i had only moderate success with this..

then i realised that when they said "smoke slowly" they were talking about the actual time it takes to complete one puff.. 
takeing long SUPER SLOW puffs helps the tobacco in the pipe burn evenly. If you have problems with the pipe tobacco mostly burning in the center, then chances are you are puffing too hard and too fast.

take your time when you draw in teh smoke... it should soft like babys breath. Smoking in this fashion will allow the cherry to smolder slowly... and it will catch the sides of the tobacco plug, not just the center... 
When you puff quick/hard, the heat gets drawn down, so only the center of the tobacco plug burns, it also sucks down all the moisture leading to a sloppy wet bowl...

you would think that drawing that slowly would cause you to only get a small amount of smoke, but the exact opposite happens.. since you are drawing very slowly and the ENTIRE bowl gets a chance to burn, you get nice large volumes of smoke wiht this method. It also helps re-light a bowl that is on the verge of going out!!

watch your frequency as well, dont let the bowl get too hot, if it does, just put it down and let it go out.. 

hope this helps.

-hyp


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## Senator (Feb 8, 2008)

I will have to give that a try, hyper d. Good sound advice...totally makes sense. 

It's funny how one can change how they smoke a pipe without even doing so on purpose. I think my most successful smokes have been where I draw long and gently...however, for whatever reason I've changed to short wispy puffs and just haven't had the same quality smokes lately. Makes sense that I'm only stoking the center of the fire.


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## Phlegmatic (Aug 1, 2008)

I do what hyper_dermic does, slow gentle sips. I do have probs with moisture tho, still. Especially at the last part of the bowl!? Usually I have to leave it to evaporate, and then re-light several times at the last part of thebowl.

What Ive learnt now though, is that the first charing light is super important. Take it slow and if she wont keep smoldering, leave it to rest and try again few minutes later. And be careful to get the whole area glowing!


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## hyper_dermic (Dec 17, 2006)

i think everyone has moisture at the bottem of the bowl... I find that liberal use of pipe cleaners, and putting the bowl down to rest fairly often helps dry it up a bit.. Ya gotta start early though, if you neglect the moisture issues until the very bottem then its too late..

If ya keep it dry when its still pretty dry, then when it gets wet, it wont be TOO wet.

-hyp


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## joeysmac (Nov 11, 2008)

I was about to ask about why i'm burning in the center, but this helped a noob alot! Thanks!!


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## Hydrated (Aug 9, 2006)

joeysmac said:


> I was about to ask about why i'm burning in the center...


I think this is related to eating jalapeno burritos. :chk


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## parris001 (Mar 29, 2008)

PipesandGOP said:


> Depends on the tobacco definately and how I'm smoking it. Typically though, I'll go with a few fairly long puffs, then wait a bit and repeat. If I'm holding it in the ol teeth then I usually keep an extremely light draw going fairly constantly and letting a little air go down the pipe on the exhale- barely keeps it burning but delivers plenty of flavor and exceptional volume of smoke.


:tpd:What he said works for me.


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## joeysmac (Nov 11, 2008)

Hydrated said:


> I think this is related to eating jalapeno burritos. :chk


Now I know what I want for dinner tonight, thanks...:dr


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## Gig (Sep 6, 2008)

Smoke the pipe the way you like it. As long as you dont suffer fron tongue bite or pipe burnout all is cool. There is no right way or wrong way to smoke. Its what you prefer and how you get the most enjoyment from your tobacco and pipe and don't let anyone else convince you otherwise :2


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## joeysmac (Nov 11, 2008)

I'm a noob, but in learning how to smoke a pipe over the past couple of weeks I have found that long, slow draws work the best. They let the tobacco smoke evenly across the pipe. Also, I have found that taking quick sips works when tamping the pipe. This helps keep the pipe from being put out by tamping.


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## McCharlie (Feb 21, 2008)

I like a long draw with ample smoke, but if I'm having a conversation with somebody I'll quicken it up with short puffs to keep the pipe lit while we talk.


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